The Choice
by MrQuinn
Summary: After being "killed" by Ransik, Alex finds himself forced to make a difficult decision. Rating PG13 for subject matter, some language and mild sexual content.


**Disclaimer: **_Power Rangers Time Force and all related logos are property of Saban/Disney Entertainment. I do not plan on making any money from this, but if I do, feel free to sue me._

_This is set during "Force from the Future" pt. one, and deals with a very sensitive subject, religion. It deals with themes of a very controversial nature, and may not be for sensitive readers. You have been warned!!  
_

* * *

He paced back and forth in the waiting room, and his imagination was getting the best of him. _If that kid dies, it'll be all my fault, _he told himself. _I never should have sent him in there after Ransik alone._

He trusted that the ranger technology would protect him from Ransik's attacks, that it would give Lieutenant Collins the advantage he needed to defeat him. He'd seen the schematics, he'd experimented with the prototype, and he was convinced that the ranger technology would be enough to defeat Ransik, but he was wrong.

Because of his mistake, one of the finest officers he'd ever known was laying in the emergency wing of the infirmary, struggling for his life. _After a beating like that, I doubt anyone could have survived, _he thought. He blamed himself for what happened; going over in his head all the ways that he could have done things differently.

_If I had just sent him an entire team, this would have never happened. If I'd gone in with him, or allowed him to activate the other four morphers like he requested, he wouldn't be in this situation,_ he thought.

He recalled with Ransik murdered Alex's family in cold blood, how he led an army of mutants to attack the city, destroy any and everyone in his way, and part of him wanted to allow Alex to exact his vengeance. _I owed him that much, but look where vengeance got him, _he sighed.

He wanted nothing more than to go check on Alex, to be there when he regained consciousness. Though he'd never had children of his own, Alex had always been like a son to him, and be felt as though he should be there when he son needed him the most.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of waiting, the doors to the infirmary slid open, and a doctor walked into the room.

"Captain Logan," he said quietly, motioning for him to follow.

The captain followed him down the hallway. "How is he doc? How is Alex?" he inquired.

"We've been able to stabilize his condition, but the internal injuries were quite severe. He is connected to a respiration unit to keep his breathing normal, but that's not what bothers me," he said.

"What is it?"

"His body will heal, in time, but there seems to be some serious physiological damage done. He's in a coma, but according to my tests, he shouldn't be. In fact, his brain activity has increased by over 20% and there's no reason he should be unconscious," he told him.

"His brain activity has increased? That's good, right? That means he could wake up at any time," he mentioned.

"Yes and no. The average human only uses 12% of his brain capacity, but Lieutenant Collins' brain activity is now at almost 18%. If it continues to increase, it could lead to long term brain damage, leaving him in his coma permanently," he explained.

"Isn't there anything you can do?"

He shook his head. "At this point, no. I can heal the physical damage, I even stopped most of the internal bleeding, but I've never seen anything like this before. You may want to contact his fiancée so she can be with him," he suggested.

"I can't, she's gone," he sighed.

"Gone? Where?"

The captain pulled him to the side of the hallway, allowing another doctor to pass them. "Ransik escaped with a time device, and Jennifer has led a team to find him and bring him back to the present," he whispered.

"That's suicide! You've seen what Ransik can do to one of your most experienced officers. Sending them after him will…" he was cut short.

"Its okay, they took the morphers with them. The four of them should be enough to defeat Ransik," he assured him.

"No, it won't. Without Alex, the other morphers are useless. Its encoded with his DNA, and only the red morpher can unlock the others," he pointed out.

Suddenly, it occurred to him what was going to happen. "They'll be defenseless without the morphers," he sighed.

"You've just sentenced Jennifer and her team to death captain," he snapped.

"We have bigger concerns right now doctor. If Ransik does defeat them and destroys the past, it's only a matter of time before the present and future are altered. The entire world as we know it hinges on if those kids can defeat Ransik, so it's up to us to revive Alex so he can go after them to help," Captain Logan told him.

The two of them stopped in front of Alex's room, where he laid in the bed motionless, connected to several machines. Captain Logan walked in cautiously, standing near the side of the bed. The equipment in the room seemed to have a rhythmic hum to it, it was almost soothing, but he also knew that without it, Alex would have died a long time ago.

He leaned over the bed slightly. "On your feet soldier, that's a order!" he snapped, hoping that the years of Time Force training would kick in, and Alex would open his eyes.

No such luck.

"Damn it Collins, we need you. Jen needs you. The world needs you, wake up!" he sighed.

* * *

Alex stood in a field of some kind. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but grass. There were trees, no buildings, nothing. The sun shined down on him, but strangely enough, he couldn't feel the heat from it. The wind blew gently, just enough to rustle the glass slightly, but he couldn't feel a thing.

He glanced around, trying to make heads and tails of the situation. His first thought was to attempt to recall what brought him to this moment. _I was in the warehouse fighting Ransik, _he thought to himself. _There was an explosion. Oh my God, am I dead? _He wondered.

"You're not dead Alexander," a voice said.

It quickly turned to the side, where he saw _her_ standing beside him. It was Jen, but she seemed different for some reason. She was wearing a white lab jacket, her hair had been pulled to the back and in a bun, and she wore glasses. "Jen, what are you doing here? What is this place?" he asked her.

"Think of this as purgatory, a healing place," she told him.

"Healing? What's wrong with me?"

"That's what we're hear to find out," another voice said.

He turned around, standing face to face with Jen… again. This time, Jen was wearing a minister's outfit, complete with a cross around her neck and a bible in her head.

"What the hell is going on?" he backed up slowly, getting a good look at both of them together. "This isn't possible, its…" he paused. Suddenly, he wasn't as nervous, not as confused as he was before. "I get it, you're my conscious. One of you are good, the other is evil, and I have to make a decision," he said calmly.

"Always think you have all the answers, don't you Alex?" a third voice asked.

Like the others before it, he recognized the voice as Jennifer's, but he didn't understand how it could be possible. Finally, he turned around, getting a good look at the third one. This one was wearing a Time Force uniform, and looked exactly like the Jen he remembered.

"Jen? Is it you?"

"We're all Jen," the three of them said unison.

"How is that possible? This isn't real," he said, taking a step back.

"Its as real as you want it to be Alex," the Jennifer in the lab coat told him.

"Its time for you to make a decision," the second one said.

"And we hope you make the right one," the last one added.

"Decision? What kind of decision?"

"Do you live? Or do you die?" they asked in unison.

Before Alex could respond, his surroundings changed. Suddenly, he wasn't in a field anymore, he was in a building. He glanced around the room, trying to get acquainted with his environment.

"Time Force. We're in Time Force," he looked around again. "This is the infirmary," he added.

"Yes. There's something I want to show you," the Jen in the lab coat told him, making her way down the hall.

He found it off that the other two versions of Jennifer were gone. _With everything else I've seen today, I think that's__strange? _He wondered.

He followed her down the hallway, stopping at one of the rooms. "What are you…" he stopped as he glanced inside the room, only to see himself laying in the infirmary. "What the hell is this?"

"This is you, Alexander. You were injured in a battle, and now the doctors are doing their best to revive you," she said.

"Doc Crane is a professional. Whatever happened to me, he'll find a way to cure it," he said with a tone of confidence in his voice.

"There is no cure for what you're doing through. They've been able to stabilize your condition, but your brain activity is the problem. If they don't find a way to stop the increase in your brain, it will collapse, and you'll be brain dead, stuck in this infirmary forever," she told him.

"That's impossible. We've cured diseases, plagues that thousands of years ago we thought we're incurable. There is no disease, no infection we can't cure," he said.

"If that were true, we wouldn't be here," she said.

"I don't understand."

"That's the problem, you don't understand. This journey is to help you understand, to help you make the right decision," she told him.

"What? What decision am I suppose to be making? I can't…" he was cut short as Jen disappeared, and again, his surroundings changed.

This time, the infirmary was gone, and Alex found himself in a church. He glanced around, and immediately saw Jen, wearing a minister's outfit, standing at the podium at the front of the church. Behind her was a huge cross, and someone was nailed to it. The closer Alex got, the sooner he realized that whoever it was, there were still alive. He hurried over to him, but Jen stood in his way.

"Stop," she said.

"We have to help that man," he told her.

"No, it has been written. He has to die for our sins," she said.

"I don't believe that. We're all held accountable for our own actions, and the sacrifice of one man won't change that. Now move aside and let me help him," he snapped.

"Don't you remember this place Alex? Your mother, your _real_ mother use to bring you here as a child," she told him.

Her statement was enough to make him stop dead in his tracks. He didn't remember much about his birth parents; only that Ransik killed them when he was eight years old. He recalled his mother taking him to church every Sunday, and the more he looked around, the more he realized…

"This is the church, isn't it?" he sighed.

"You were eight when your mother brought you here, to teach you the word of God. She wanted you to understand the importance of her beliefs, and wanted you to share her beliefs as well," she said.

"I did, for a while."

"What happened?"

"Ransik killed her. He murdered both of them with no rhyme, no reason, no purpose. They were off duty, he didn't even know they were Time Force officers when he did it. He killed them, and my mother pleaded for her life, but he gave them no mercy," suddenly, the pain in his voice was replaced with anger, hatred. "How could a God who claims to love all his children allow them to be killed by a lunatic?" he snapped.

"It was their time," she said.

"Bullshit! What kind of God would allow me to grow up the rest of my life bouncing from one foster home to another, being mistreated and neglected my entire life? What kind of God takes parents away from their children?" he snapped.

"God works in mysterious ways."

"Mystery my ass. If there were a God, there wouldn't be innocent people suffering everyday, there would be no crime, no wars, no oppression. Someone who claimed to be our personal Lord and savior wouldn't allow us to kill one another!" he told her.

"He only answers those who believe in him."

"My mother believed!" he yelled. "She believed in him with every ounce of her soul, and what did it get her? I was there when Ransik killed her. I was there when she dropped to her knees and prayed to God to deliver her from harm! Where was divine intervention then? Where was the miracle then?" he screamed.

"Everything happens for a reason."

"No mother died for no reason at all She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and any God who is sick enough to stand by and do nothing while innocent people suffer doesn't deserve praise," he told her.

"But God helps people, God saves."

"Bullshit. God doesn't save people, science does. Where was God when people were dying from AIDS? Where was God when people were dropping off like flies because of the Ebola virus? Where was he during World War four when billions of innocent children were infected with biological agents that ate them from the inside out? Did God save them? No, science did. _We_ found cures for these diseases, _we_ found ways to prevent the infections from spreading, and _we_ saved them. Not God, us!" he snapped. "God had nothing to do with it, it was science!"

"So, you place your complete faith in science?" Jen asked him.

"You damn right I do."

"So why hasn't science been able to treat your condition yet? Why are you still in the infirmary fighting for your life? Where is your science now?" she inquired.

"Certainly you don't expect me to pray to God to heal me, do you? I've seen what God can do, and I'm not impressed," Alex said coldly.

"It's almost time for you to make your decision Alex. I hope you make the right one," Jen sighed.

Before he could say a word, the surroundings changed on him again. This time, he found himself in an apartment of some kind. After having a moment to look around, he realized where he was. _This is Jen's apartment, _he thought to himself. He'd been there on many occasions, and he glad to finally see a place where he felt comfortable.

"Hello Alex," a voice sighed.

Just then, Jen walked into the room wearing her Time Force uniform, approaching him slowly.

"Jen, what's going on?"

"You know where we are, don't you?"

"Yes, this is your place, but what…"

"Lets not worry about it, lets just be together," she sighed, unzipping her uniform slightly as she continued to inch towards him.

"You want to…"

"Yes Alex, I want you. I want you all to myself. No Time Force, no job, no mutants, nothing. Just me and you," she said as her uniform fell to the floor. She quickly stepped out of it, leaving her wearing only her bra and panties. "Just be with me," she said.

"Jen, we can't…"

"Why not?"

"Because we have a job to do. Something is happening, something big. I don't understand it all yet, but I have to figure this thing out," he said.

"Don't you love me?"

"I'll always love you Jen, forever, but I have to…"

"There's always something, isn't it? There's always going to be a mutant attack, there's always going to be some paperwork that needs doing, or some crisis that takes you away from me, isn't there? For once Alex, just once, lets focus one you and me. Lets focus one each other," she said, wrapping her arms around him.

"I'd love to, but…"

She backed away from him. "That's your problem Alex, you're too uptight. You're always so worried about what you have to do that you don't just enjoy being with me," she said.

"That isn't true."

"It isn't? Then why did you send me after Ransik knowing that I wouldn't be able to use the morphers? Why did you rush into that building to get yourself killed? All of you had to do was be with me, but that was too much for you, wasn't it?" she snapped.

"You're taking it personal Jen, ands its not. I have a job to do, and I don't have time to be with you twenty four hours a day," he pointed out.

"How would you know? You never even tried!"

"I did try, but…"

"Well not hard enough damn it. Even when you proposed to me, you told me _after_ we took care of Ransik once and for all. Why couldn't we have gotten married right then?" she asked.

"Because I wanted to give you a big wedding, a…"

"I don't need a big wedding Alex. I just want to be with you. The wedding doesn't matter, the ring didn't matter. All that mattered was that we were going to be together, but you're too worried about fighting mutants and playing hero that you can't see that!" Jen snapped.

"That's not true Jen. You know I love you," he said.

"How do I know? What have you done to tell me, to show me?" she pulled her ring off, throwing it at him. "You think _that_ tells me you love me? You think spending your lunch break with me at work tells me you love me? It doesn't!" she said.

"I have a job, I have obligations to…"

"No, you have obligations to _me_! I'm suppose to be your wife, but you're too concerned about catching Ransik that you forget about it," she said.

"What do you want me to do Jen?"

"I want you to make a decision," she said.

Alex paused, realizing that it wasn't just one voice, but three, all of them saying it unison. A decision. Before he could respond, his environment changed again, and he found himself back in the field.

This time, all three versions of Jen were there, all of them standing side by side, all three of them staring at him.

"What is your decision?" they asked.

"I don't understand what you mean? Do you want me to abandon science and to put my faith in God, or do you want me to quit my job and be with you? I don't know what you want," he sighed.

"What is your decision?" they repeated.

He simply stared at the three of them, trying to sort out the random thoughts in his head. He knew that most of his life, he was obsessed with bringing Ransik to justice. After seeing his parents killed, he knew what he had to do. As soon as he turned eighteen, he joined Time Force, and dedicated his life to not only stopping Ransik, but to protecting people. He knew that his mother wanted him to be more spiritual, but after watching her be murdered, it was more for him to have faith in anything other than himself.

Then there was Jen. She was the first person he'd allowed himself to open up to, to share his inner most thoughts and secrets, to reveal the trials and tribulations of his life. She listened, she understood, and that's why he intended to marry her.

"What happens if I don't make a decision?" he asked.

"Then you will die," they told him.

"I can't decide if I don't know what my choices are," Alex insisted.

"You've always known your choices Alex, it's just up to you make a decision. You've wrestled with us your entire life, and if you're going to live, its time for you to make your final decision," one of them Jen's told him.

"I've wrestled with you, what do you…" he paused. Suddenly, it was all so clear to him. Suddenly, it all made complete sense. He walked over to the Jen wearing the lab coat. "You were trying to tell me that science didn't have all the answers, that I shouldn't put my trust in facts and figures," he stood in front of the Jen in the minister's outfit. "You wanted me to have faith in God, but after seeing what happened to my parents, I couldn't." he stood in front of Jen wearing her Time Force uniform. "You wanted me to forget about everything and be with you, but you knew full well I couldn't do that," he backed away from them. "All of you wanted something from me, trying to lead me into your way of thinking, to do the things you wanted me to, and I can't. But that's the point, isn't it?" he asked.

"What is your decision?" they repeated, almost ignoring his statement.

"All of life, its been one or the other. One extreme or another, and I can't live that way. I can't have absolute faith in science, because even though they have cured diseases, there are still things that science can't explain. I can't follow God blindly, because God wants us to figure things out on our own. And I can't abandon everything I have to do to be with Jen, because I have other obligations. The trick is to find a balance between all three," Alex said. "Just because I believe in science, doesn't mean I can't have faith in God, and just because I have a job to do doesn't mean I have to neglect the only woman I've ever loved," he told him.

"You have chosen well," they said in unison.

At that moment, he found himself surrounded in darkness. There was no cold, no heat, nothing, excepting for a rhythmic humming of some kind. It was calming, soothing, and he opened his eyes slowly to see where the sound was coming from, only to find himself in the infirmary. Captain Logan was next to the bed, fast asleep in a chair, and judging by his position, he wasn't very comfortable.

"Captain," Alex mumbled, amazed at how much strength it took for him to speak.

The captain leaped up, rushing over to him. "Lt. Collins, you're awake," he said proudly. "For a minute there, I didn't think you were going to make it," he said.

"For a minute there, sir, I wasn't," Alex told him.

* * *

End 


End file.
